Health Review

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:13): Can the minister perhaps clarify for the house what he means by 'primarily'? Can he perhaps tell us the difference between what is currently operating on the site and what will not be operating on the site—not what primarily will be the same but actually what will be the difference?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (14:13): The difference will be with regard to people who require admission to hospital. As I have said, about 13 per cent of patients who present to the Noarlunga emergency department are actually admitted to hospital. Half of those patients aren't admitted to Noarlunga hospital: they are transferred to Flinders Medical Centre because Noarlunga Hospital doesn't have the ability to look after patients of a certain acuity.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Noarlunga Hospital simply is not able to look after those patients, so an ambulance is called, generally, and those patients are transferred up to the Flinders Medical Centre. There is a problem with that. It is not desirable. It is far better that those patients go directly to the Flinders Medical Centre, where they are able to get the definitive treatment that they require the first time, rather than being double handled. Why this should be objectionable to members opposite, I am not quite sure. I would have thought that they would be open to any way that we could improve patient care. This is certainly one of them.

So, with regard to what the differences will be, the differences will be for those patients who at the moment present to Noarlunga Hospital and are admitted to hospital. Those are the people for whom there will be some difference but, of those, half are actually transferred and admitted into Flinders Medical Centre anyway, so we would hope through this process that, as much as possible, those patients are taken directly to the Flinders Medical Centre, not having to be double handled by presenting to Noarlunga Hospital in the first instance.

The SPEAKER: Before the leader asks a question, I call the member for Hartley to order and warn him for the first time. I also warn for the first time the members for Heysen and Adelaide, I warn the member for Hammond for the second and final time and I call to order the members for Mitchell and Goyder. Leader.